Female appointed London’s Lord Mayor second time in history

Photo EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

LONDON, October 1. (ITAR-TASS). – A female has been appointed Lord Mayor the second time in 800-year history of the City. As The Financial Times noted on Tuesday, this event could be a turning point in the activities of the financial center, where 94% of posts are occupied by men.

The election was held in the City of London on Monday, and was won by 65-year-old Fiona Woolf, CMC Cameron McKenna legal service partner and expert in electricity markets. She succeeds Roger Gifford, becoming the 686th Lord Mayor.

Despite all of the remaining challenges, the City of London continues to play a key role not only in the UK economy, but globally, Woolf said after the voting. She will officially assume the new office at the beginning of November.

The first female in the office of Lord Mayor was public activist Mary Donaldson that was elected in 1983. Since then, according to The Financial Times, the number of female staff in the City has been growing, and the election of Woolf should further encourage this process.

Lord Mayor of the City, as opposed to the Mayor of Greater London, is elected for one year and performs mostly ceremonial duties. His position is not paid and is non-political. The role of Lord Mayor is reduced mainly to the support and promotion of the City’s financial companies. During this year he usually spends about 90 days abroad, visiting an average of 22 countries and delivers about 700 speeches.